Sheikh Hasina trials: Ousted leader slapped with 6-month jail term by Bangladesh tribunal

Bangladesh's ousted Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, who is currently on self-exile in India, was sentenced to a six-month prison term by the country's International Crimes Tribunal on Wednesday in a contempt of court case, a top prosecutor said.

A three-member panel of the tribunal—led by Justice M. Golam Mortuza Mozumder—passed the order after reviewing a leaked phone conversation involving the ousted Awami League leader that circulated on social media last year, as per a Daily Star report.

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In the audio clip, Hasina is allegedly heard telling former Gobindaganj Upazila chairman and banned Bangladesh Chhatra League (BCL) leader Shakil Akand Bulbul: "I have had 227 cases filed against me, so I have received a licence to kill 227 people."

Until her exit in August, the BCL had been a vital part of Sheikh Hasina's iron rule over Bangladesh, often dominating college campuses and allegedly leading violent mobs against anti-Hasina protesters.

As a result, BCL leader Bulbul was sentenced to two months in prison in the same case, Chief Prosecutor Muhammad Tajul Islam told reporters.

Despite facing numerous cases following deadly student-led protests in August, Wednesday's ruling marks the first time that the former leader was sentenced in one of them.

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According to a UN rights office report, around 1,400 were killed between July 15 and August 15 in 2024, as retaliatory violence continued even after the fall of the previous regime.

Sheikh Hasina, however, has denied all charges of clampdowns on those who opposed her incumbency—including the current case—telling journalists that she would present "arguments to seek her discharge from these allegations", according to defence lawyer Amir Hossain, as per a Hindustan Times report.

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